First Time Kayaking the Basha Kill
Wurtsboro New York has a lot of hiking and walking trails. The area also has a giant 3,000+ acre wildlife management area called the Basha Kill. This area was purchased in the 70s and transformed to a marsh. It houses plenty of wildlife including owls, eagles, red-winged blackbirds, blue herons, and warblers. Over the years when we’ve passed by or hiked the trail, we would admire the marsh but never thought we would one day kayak it. Today was the day!
Kayaking the Bashakill Marsh
Just a short time ago we were visiting the Basha Kill and it was all water. Today, a whole different scenery awaited us; one filled with plenty of greenery. We took my boyfriend’s cousin with us to test out the single Wilderness Systems kayak that we just purchased. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the area was empty. (Congrats to her for graduating from college!)
We started our journey from the Bashakill Winery Vineyards side and went exploring to the left of it. The beginning of the path was a bit shallow and the kayak paddle would come back up with algae. After a short distance the water path opened up and it was beautiful. You are surrounded by greenery in the water and lush trees and mountains. The 360 views were spectacular and worth checking out.
What We Saw
The Bashakill wilderness area is the home to many species of birds. We were able to see some of them including a few different blue herons, plenty of red winged blackbirds and even two warblers! One was yellow and the other was orange. We also saw a beaver and a snapping turtle swimming right by the kayak! And of course this is the day that I didn’t have my camera!
We stayed on the water for two and a half hours and did five miles (according to Strava App). The water was mostly calm with some wind picking up at the end of the journey before the storm. The only people we saw on the marsh was a couple and their son as we were leaving. So if you are looking for a beautiful place to test out your kayak, you have to check out the Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area. If you don’t have a kayak you can walk the trails and still enjoy the scenery and wildlife.
